Fifteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

In these uncertain times, a confluence of crises can produce new opportunities for learning and change. For example “Laudato Si’,” a dialogue about the Earth as our common home, was written by Pope Francis in 2015 as a response to environmental and social catastrophe. It is addressed to “every person living on this planet” and is of particular relevance to people in first-world countries, who are urged to transform their environmental, social, and economic habits for the sake of the Earth and humanity. But how to do this? Over the last forty years, sustainability educators and activists have pursued a range of strategies and used a variety of practices to undertake the task of transforming western society. However, whilst many outstanding projects have been implemented, the crises have intensified. In this paper, we draw on concepts used in “Laudato Si’” to drill down deeply into language and its discursive applications. We critique mainstream understandings of nature, spirituality, and science and include political and economic complexities. With a transdisciplinary process and using integral ecology as the conceptual framework, we draw together a range of perspectives to create new insights for transformative community education. Following this we provide an update on a Kimberley (North Western Australia) project which applies these new directions. Sub-projects include school-based sustainability education, Aboriginal knowledge for sustainable futures, and sustainable community development. Our study shows transformative learning. It also shows that in this age of crisis, working at the level of epistemic insight can produce unexpected impact.